The field of invention relates generally to testing computer system circuit boards and, more specifically but not exclusively relates to a programmable carrier plate apparatus for employment in automated computer system circuit board test equipment.
It is a common practice to perform testing of circuit boards, such as computer system boards (e.g., motherboards and the like) prior to their sale or use in a computer system product. For example, as computer system boards have evolved, an ever-increasing level of functionality has been built into the boards, such as integrated video subsystems, audio systems, network interfaces, modem circuitry, and the like. Testing to verify the integrity of such functionality is often performed during quality control operations, either on an individual board basis, or using a random sampling scheme.
Generally, computer system boards are tested in the following manner. The board is mounted or otherwise coupled to a test plate or the like, and a plurality of input connectors are manually mated with corresponding system board connectors to provide input power signals to the system board and to coupled input/output (I/O) ports and the like to electronic test equipment that is used to test the performance of the system board via a variety of test operations. Additional manual operations typically include insertion of memory and/or microprocessors. This is a very laborious process, and is also very time-consuming. As a result, the test throughput is low, and test costs are excessive.
In addition, when different types of computer system boards are to be tested, the test environment will often require a uniquely-configured test station for each type of board. For example, different system board types may require different power supply inputs, and/or may have different memory slot locations. Accordingly, the test station used to perform testing of such system boards must be configured to accommodate any unique characteristics of the system boards. This adds to the expense and complexity of a test environment. Furthermore, when the computer system board for a particular test station is phased-out of production, the test station is often scrapped, as it cannot be used to test other types of system boards.